Module Identifier
CR30820
Module Title
VICTIMS
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Miss Katherine S Williams
Semester
Semester 2
Pre-Requisite
LA39220
Pre-Requisite
CR10120
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 30hrs (1 x 2hr session and 2 x 1hr sessions per week)
Lecture 30hrs (1 x 2hr session and 2 x 1hr sessions per week)
Seminars / Tutorials 6hrs (3 x 2hr seminars)
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Exam 2 Hours   2hr exam at end of appropriate semester  100%
Supplementary Exam 2 Hours   2hr exam at end of appropriate semester  100%

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a sound critical awareness of and understanding of the major theories, perspectives and concepts in the study of victims and victimology.
2. Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of how victimization is socially, politically and legally constructed and how this informs policies, practices and debates locally, nationally and internationally.
3. Apply criminological theory to various situations and reflect on and develop a critical understanding of the concepts, theories, policies and practices associated with victims and victimology.
4. Identify, explain and evaluate the role of victims within different official and unofficial presentations and be able to assess their impact on crime, enforcement, punishment and offenders as well as the impact of each of these on victims.
5. Explain and critically analyse a nuanced concept of the victim.
6. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the victim, their needs and their roles, from sociological and psychological perspectives.

Brief description

Academic rationale of the proposal: In recent years victims have become more central to the study of criminology and to the shape of legal, enforcement and punishment systems. The module provides a detailed understanding of this aspect of the subject.

Brief Description: The module will consider the nature of victimhood both in legal and sociological terms. This will be done firstly from the standpoint of the victim and then from media or other popular positions. It will then explore and challenge some of the stereotypical conceptions of victimization through a consideration of a number of types of victim. Finally it will move on to the position of victims within the criminal justice system. It will take account of critical and feminist theoretical positions.

Content:

Defining victims: Becoming a victim; Contested notions of victimhood; Limits of legal conceptions of victim - Zemiological and abolitionist considerations.

Perceptions of Victims: Legal; Media and popular culture; Offender.

Types of Victim: Rape - male and female victims; Domestic violence - male and female victims; Victims of state violence; Victims of terrorism; Sociological; Psychological.

Victim Participation: In the Exclusionary Criminal Justice System; Restorative Justice; The changing role of victims within the criminal justice system .

Consequences of Victim Centred Systems: The impact of victims on the criminal justice system; The impact of the criminal justice system on victims.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number Understanding and evaluating relevant quantitative research data will be a part of the module, at least in relation to certain theories.
Communication Oral communication skills will be encouraged and honed in seminars and also in lectures - not assessed. Written communication skills will be practised through note taking both in lectures and private study and in formal submission of written work in assignments and examinations.
Improving own Learning and Performance Students will be expected to read selected texts and from these materials build on their lectures and test their own learning, especially in seminars. This will enable them to take more control over their learning and to locate problem areas which they will be supported in overcoming.
Information Technology Preparation for seminars, the assignments and the examination will all require use of the library databases and other electronic databases. Students will be referred to useful urls and be encouraged to retrieve data electronically. Students will be encouraged to prepare their assignment electronically.
Personal Development and Career planning Enhanced capacity for independent and critical thought. Good time-management skills in preparing for seminars and submitting work on time - not assessed.
Problem solving Students will be studying legal, theoretical and sociological sources to ascertain how these interplay to solve some difficult issues of law and crime control
Research skills Students will be expected to locate material both on line and in the library and to use these materials for assignments, seminar preparations and examinations. They will be encouraged to develop individual research skills in order to perform these tasks effectively.
Subject Specific Skills
Team work As well as individual work, the seminars will involve team work tasks allowing students to support each other in interactive learning.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6